The students of Tartu University grounded their own sports club in 1908. Estonian Academic Sports club joined all Estonian student sportsmen in the young Republic of Estonia. In 1923 first regional student competitions were launched that later became known as the SELL Games (first letters of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the respective languages). In 1923-1940 the SELL Summer Games were held 13, Winter Games (since 1929) 5 and the Chess Tournaments (since 1937) 3 times. The first competitions were arranged on September 14 to 16, 1923 in Tartu, the last (winter games) on March 2 to 3, 1940 in Otepää near Tartu. International ties between student athletes of the Baltic States were disrupted following the Soviet occupation in 1940.
In 1991 Estonia became an independent state again and shortly afterwards the Estonian Academic Sports Federation (EASF) was founded. In 1997 the EASF organized the meeting of the representatives of four states and it was agreed that the tradition of the SELL Games should be restored. 75 years had passed from the first games when in the spring of 1998 next SELL Summer Games were held in Tartu with 800 athletes from 59 universities of 13 states participating. The Estonian student body restored its status of initiating and co-ordinating student competitions in the Baltic region. The following SELL Games were held in 1999 in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 2000 in Jelgava, Latvia, in 2002 in Tartu, Estonia, in 2003 in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 2004 in Tampere, Finland and in 2005 in Riga, Latvia.